Monthly Archives: May 2016

Baby Shower

My girlfriends threw a baby shower for me in mid-May. It was so much fun having these ladies together and celebrating with them. They showered Layla and me with lots of love and support. I feel truly lucky to have them in my life!
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Sweet Nicole took photos of the decor
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That’s 56 diapers there in the cake
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Everyone wrote a welcome message in the book, “My Sweetest Princess Layla”
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We had a headband making station
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Caroline had each of the guests write a special or embarrassing memory about me, which she read aloud. Then I had to guess who it was, and that was the gift I then opened. It was such a fun game, and the stories were touching to hear!
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Caroline & Heather, friends since Jr. High
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With Nicole & Manivanh
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Afterwards, a quick photo the kids
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And one of the adults
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“Do you like my headband?”
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Avery made this one for his little sis.
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May

We had a beautiful start to May. We know there will be many days ahead spent at the lake or the river, and decided it was time for some refresher swim lessons for the boys. Silas is the one in the goggles.
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And that’s Kieron on the far right.
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Jonathan took Silas and Kieron to Paddle Fest at Lake Sammamish one day.
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They tried out various kayaks, paddle boards, etc.IMG_7680

Here’s Avery with Flippy the frog, who the boys discovered in the yard one afternoon.
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Silas and Flippy
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Kieron and Flippy
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And then… :/
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Avery at his piano recital. He performed the Star Wars Theme Song by John Williams
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Avery brushing another tooth he pulled for the fairy.IMG_9531

The Avery’s came for a visit. Here’s Silas posing with Nicole
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At the park
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Mother’s Day photo with my boys!
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The boys with their lovies
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Kieron is doing a great job reading, and even enjoys reading stories to Silas now. He speaks very clearly and uses a lot of inflection.
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Jonathan has been taking the boys on some hiking outings on the weekends. I am getting, ahem, a bit waddly these days, and am taking advantage of the time alone to get things in order for baby and the busy days ahead.
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A deer visitor
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At REI in Seattle
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Kieron the Six Year Old!

Kieron turned six on May 5th. He sure has grown up a lot this year.  He is such a sweet sensitive, silly little boy, and has outgrown much of the stubbornness of his earlier years, although he still has lots of spirit. Kindergarten and getting glasses both did wonders for him. Kieron reads quite well for his age, and enjoys reading longer chapter books with us. His favorites include anything Roald Dahl and most recently, Hatchet. He also likes math, and especially science. He loves the outdoors, and is a real workhorse. Kieron is big and strong for a kid his age, and has even been boasting about his “big muscles” lately (not sure where that came from, but it’s cute). He is pretty quiet at school, but has made some good friends, and enjoys playing with Avery and the older boys when they’ll let him. Now that Silas is older and becoming more of a peer, the two (only 20 months apart) are forming a special bond, and Kieron is growing into his role as an older brother and mentor.

Some special things about Kieron: he loves slapstick humor as much as the next kid, but it’s his timing and dry sense of humor (well beyond his years) that really crack us up. He can be quite emotional and sensitive, and perceptive to the feelings of others, although he is working on translating this into words and actions. Kieron also has a strong sense of social justice, perhaps because he is the middle child. We’ve recently noticed him growing into the role of “peacekeeper”. In particular, when Avery and Silas are acting up, Kieron becomes incredibly cooperative and well-behaved.

Kieron would like to be a park ranger when he grows up, and we can totally see it. Between his love of the outdoors, strong work ethic, and solitary nature, this could be a real calling for him!

Here’s our sweet boy on his last night as a five-year-old
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Birthday breakfast request: waffles!
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Birthday morning
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With his first Fender
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Lemon cupcakes!IMG_5656 IMG_5657

This year Kieron decided he wanted to have a Minecraft themed party at our house. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful, so we were able to do the entire party in the backyard (always a plus with a group of excited little boys)! With the help of Pinterest, I devised some cheap & simple party decorations, we played a couple of games, served pizza, cupcakes, and Minecraft-themed hors d’oeuvres, and then let the kids play the rest of the time. That night Kieron said to me “Mommy, I had so much fun at my party today!” Those words made me so happy!

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Endermen
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Spider
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Everyone’s favorite game, Shoot the Creeper! Jonathan was such a sport!IMG_5676 IMG_5684 IMG_5692 IMG_5695 IMG_5697 IMG_5702

Brooklyn as a creeper
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Kieron and his friend, Louis, running through the “Ender Portal”IMG_9539

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April

Here’s some more of what we were up to in April.

Kieron and Silas hiking Boulder Garden Loop with Daddy
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Kieron got a new pair of glasses – sports goggles. They are perfect for our rough and tumble little boy, and the transition lenses are awesome for summer!IMG_9114

Avery still loves parkour. Look at his muscles working here!
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Completing an obstacle course. Avery always leaves class sweaty and red-faced.
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Silas and his pal, Buddha
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I went to Utah with Jonathan for his +1 dinner for work. It was fun getting to see where he goes while he’s there and meeting some of the people he works with. We spent a day in Salt Lake City, and here we are at Park City the following day.
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Avery and Kieron did a track camp over spring break. Their favorite events were the non-running ones. 🙂 Here’s Kieron throwing the javelin.
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Kieron doing the long jumpIMG_9178

Avery throwing the javelin
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Picnic in the backyard
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Kieron in his Kindergarten Opera, The Three Nanny Goats Gruff. IMG_9381

He was on cloud nine after the performance. I wasn’t expecting it from him, but the stage seemed to invigorate him!IMG_9383

Waiting for lunch at Zeek’s Pizza.IMG_9386

Silas has been on a sneaky streak lately. Here he is after giving himself a bang trim. On this particular afternoon he also snuck some treats from the pantry and stamped our return address in several spots on the family room wall.
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His “after” shot
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The boys performing a duet together before swimming lessons
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At a parkIMG_9418 IMG_9423

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Back at Rattlesnake Lake

Warmer days means heading to the water to cool off. We’ve already been back to Rattlesnake Lake a few times. Here are the boys on their first time back. They all swam out to this stump, Silas just needed a little boost up onto it.
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30 week bump shot
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A couple weeks later we returned with paddle boards. Here are Avery and Kieron maxing out the weight limit on their kids board.
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Meanwhile Jonathan took Silas for a spin on his. Silas was armed with a water gun.
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Rescue op. Kieron and Avery made it a ways out and then overturned. Avery decided to abandon ship with the paddle and swim back to shore, so Jonathan towed Kieron back in.IMG_9465

Back out and at it again.IMG_9468

Avery with his boardIMG_9470

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